Part Two of October Holiday 2010 was a camel ride in the Tenggeli Desert, Ningxia Province.  We began on Monday afternoon riding deep into the desert. (Actually, I’m pretty sure our guides led us in circles. When we commented about this, they laughed!)  We rode for a couple of hours, set up camp, looked for firewood (which proved easier than we thought it would be), and rested for the evening.  We sang hymns and other songs around the campfire while our guides played a drinking game.  (The second night was awesome because the guides tried to sing along with us!)  

Highlights of the camel trip:  Watching the sunset and sunrise in the desert, seeing all of the stars at night, blue skies all day, squatting in the cleanest, freshest bathroom I’ve ever been in (there’s just something about the open air breeze and sun smiling down on you. Honestly, the first bathroom I used when I got back was the bus station bathroom and let me tell you…I prefer the desert), 🙂 sleeping by the fire, fellowship and fun with other FOCers, and marveling at the beauty of HIS creation both fauna and flora.  Riding the camels was also a highlight, but that’s assumed! 🙂  Below are some of the better pictures that I took on the trip.

This was really the color of the desert sand. It was so beautiful there. It wasn't too hot. It got a bit cold at night. Not a view I will soon forget!

I wondered a lot how long it took for the wind to blow the footprints out of the sand.  We created a lot of footprints but somehow the sand ended up like this again.   If it wasn’t for the power lines here and there, it would have seemed like I was a million miles away from civilization.  It was awesome!

When I take pictures of things I like to take things from a wide perspective and also up close. This was taken in a different direction from the sun so the color is a bit different than the previous picture.

Camels are some of the craziest looking creatures I have ever seen...and some of the strongest. Although we weren't on the camels for a terribly long time each day, they did carry us up and down dunes with ease and skill. I was a little nervous a couple of times when my camel would run down the dunes. As the trip went on, the nerves calmed and going down hills was actually pretty fun!

It was fun to watch the camels.  The way they eat. They way the chew. The way the walk. They way they ‘smile.’ Their feet. Everything about them is so funny. And this just in…I didn’t see one camel spit.  I wonder if it’s a myth.

Speaking of smiling. 🙂 They were so cute. A different kind of cute than the pandas. They were also so funny.

This camel’s name was Xiao Bai 小白.  It means “little white”.  He wasn’t so little (or white for that matter) but he was whiter than the rest of them.  He was sort of the “drama queen” camel.  So much so, that the camel driver let the person riding him go on his own with him just because he had a hard time being in a group of camels!

I also found this guy while I was wandering in the desert. We saw tons of little tracks in the sand. (When I say little, I mean smaller than a camel print or a human print.) The small tracks belonged to various bugs, these little guys, and--according to the guides--foxes.

He wasn’t that big. I was able to get pretty close to him to take his picture.  It didn’t seem like he was afraid of me at all.

Footprints of yours truly. Yes, both sets. I have another one with only one set of footprints.

The sunrise on the second day. I didn't get up for the sunrise on the first day. The sun rose much later here than in Beijing because of the lack of timezones. China is all one timezone. And it all revolves around the capital. 🙂

Another one of HIS beautiful gifts to us! It seemed extra beautiful in the desert.  Maybe because I was able to see the blue skies all the time and didn’t have to worry about smog and pollution.

There were many other great photos. You’ll just have to wait until I come home to see them or stop on by Facebook. 

I’m so blessed to be able to have this holiday time to be energized, to spend time with fellow believers, and to enjoy HIS creation.  I couldn’t have asked for a better time.

A blog entry in pictures. (…and captions)

These were the people sitting by us on the train to Yinchuan. It was a 19-hour train ride that turned into 21 hours. We killed the first 6ish hours by chatting with these gentlemen and playing a card game. After that, the ride was pretty brutal because it was overnight, we were tired, and we had seats instead of sleepers. The beginning of the journey was really beautiful as the train was travelling through the mountains. When we weren't in one of the 106 tunnels the views of the mountains were breathtaking! The boy in the front is named George. He also had the picture on his camera and we are now email friends. His English is really good. The other two could not speak English but thankfully I had a translator with me. 😉 She slept more than I did and one of the guys even commented that they wanted to talk but couldn't because the translator was sleeping!

Gretl and I arrived in Yinchuan a day ahead of the rest of the crew so we had some time to explore before the camel adventure. Here is the only picture I took of Yinchuan on the evening that we arrived in town. Yinchuan is a city of 1 million people. (a very small city in China standards...but still pretty large) Our full day (the next day) was to be spent out of town in the mountains of Dawukou climbing to the wild great wall!

I noticed that they were both wearing Wyoming shirts! 🙂 I had to take a picture!

After walking through the sand river (that's not the name, just what it was) we climbed part of the mountains to get to this spot. This is an unrestored section of the Great Wall. I was kind of a chicken because I have this immoderate fear of heights. I didn't climb the steeper part of the wall but chose to stay on this tiny little section of it!

Gretl and me in front of the mountains. People in this part of the country are not used to seeing foreigners. Needless to say, I got a lot of stares and even more "Hello"s.

Coming off of the mountain, we stumbled upon this little boy. He looked so sad. I can only imagine what he was hiding from. He tried to 'hide' from me in the picture, but I waited long enough until his curiosity got the best of him. I couldn't resist.

Also on our way out of the mountains we came across this wall. Apparently, barbed wire isn't known in this part of the world. I actually like this security method better. It's much more light reflecting and beautiful!

Sometimes when you are waiting or you have nothing better to do, you practice the squat. I'm not so great at the squat. To be really good at it you are able to have both feet flat on the ground and both legs together. I have seen many-a Chinese man in this position, on a curb, smoking a cigarette, for at least 30 minutes. My knees would get tired. I'm glad there are only a few times when I HAVE to be in this position.

After our day in Dawukou, we met up with the rest of the group and prepared for the camel part of our adventure!